


His best friend on Earth

by Blodeuwedd



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-26 02:48:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14991119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blodeuwedd/pseuds/Blodeuwedd
Summary: A brief scene of Ian and Mickey as childhood friends.Written for Gallavich Week 2018.





	His best friend on Earth

His father is yelling again, loud and aggressive, throwing things into walls and into anyone on his path. Mickey wants to be brave, but he can’t yet, not when he’s so small. There’s nothing he can do yet. Maybe, he dreams, when he’s older, maybe then he’ll stand up to his dad, he’ll defend his sister, his brothers, his mother. Right now, all he can do is run. And so he does, as fast as his still small legs can carry him, he runs in search of a place to hide.

He finds it on the baseball field where he used to play in the Little League just a few months previously, before he was expelled for pissing on the first base. Well, that coach was an idiot who never gave Mickey a fair chance, so screw him. He hated baseball anyway. The only good thing to come out of it has been his friendship with Ian Gallagher, the redhead boy who lives just a few blocks away from him with a family nearly as large as Mickey’s. 

Mickey climbs the fence and hides in the dugouts. It’s cold enough that no one will think of playing now, so he’s safe. He sits on the bench, huddled over for warmth, willing himself not to think of his dad and his loud voice and strong hands. Instead, he thinks of his friend Ian and conjures up conversations that have never happened, maybe never will, just to pass the time. 

He’s surprised, therefore, when he sees Ian himself getting into the dugout.

“What are you doing here?” Ian asks, his green eyes wide.

“What are  _ you _ doing here?” Mickey retorts.

Ian shrugs and sits next to Mickey. “Felt like it.”

Mickey nods. “Yeah. Me too.”

They sit together in silence, both curious as to what exactly has happened to the other, both not wanting to actually know. It is better like that, when they don’t have to dwell on it.

“Tag, you’re it!” Mickey says out of the blue, touching Ian’s shoulder before jumping to his feet and dashing off, running through the empty field.

“Hey!” he hears Ian say behind him, before he also sets off after Mickey.

They chase each other for a while, cheeks pink with effort, laughing as they run through the field and push each other down, rolling on the grass. It’s several minutes later when they stop, lying on their backs side-by-side, panting, huge grins etched on their faces. 

“My mom left” Ian says after a few seconds of silence. “I mean, I knew she would, but…” he shrugs. “I guess I forgot.” 

Mickey stays quiet, not really sure how to answer to that confession. 

“Shit, man. That sucks.” Mickey isn’t totally sure how much it sucks having a mother leave when such mother is not very good at being a mother to begin with, but he’s heard older kids and adults saying that to each other, so he figures it’s a safe answer.

“Yeah…”

“At least you don’t have anyone to tell you to go to take a shower now, right? Or go to bed early or do your homework and shit like that.”

“Nah, I do. There’s Fiona.”

Mickey frowns, deep in thought. He doesn’t have a Fiona. His older brothers don’t care about him or Mandy or even Iggy and Colin. No one has ever told Mickey to do something unless it was to get out of the way, to grab someone a beer or to shut the fuck up - and that included his parents.

“Must be nice” he wonders out loud. 

“What?”

“To have a Fiona.”

Ian is silent for only a beat before he agrees. “It is.”

“You know” Ian continues after a minute “if you want me to, I can tell you to take a shower and do your homework.”

Mickey shoves Ian’s shoulder, but he’s laughing. “Fuck off!”

Ian straddles Mickey, tickling him merciless while the older boy tries to break free, tears falling from his eyes as he can’t stop laughing. Finally Ian jumps up.

“Tag, you’re it!” he shouts, before poking Mickey on the shoulder and running off.

“Not cool, Gallagher!” Mickey shouts back, but he’s already on his feet chasing his friend.

“Payback’s a bitch!”

Mickey laughs as he tries to catch Ian. A brief thought of his father crosses his mind again, but he pushes it aside. At least for a few hours, he can be a child again, here with his best friend on Earth.


End file.
